Up to 400 Lebanese Expatriates to Return Home Sunday: Foreign Minister

Lebanese Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti said on Friday that there is a big number of Lebanese expatriates who are willing to return to Lebanon.

“Many Lebanese expatriates have registered their names at their respective embassies. The start will be on Sunday (April 5) with 4 flights since we can’t receive more than 400 passengers in the same day,” he said in remarks carried by Al-Manar.

He added that the flights will carry Lebanese expatriates from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

The minister noted, meanwhile, that a medical team will be onboard every airplane involved in the operation to get the Lebanese expatriates who are facing the threat of coronavirus back to their country.

Lebanon has been under a lockdown since March 15, with its airport, seaports and land borders shutting down as of March 19, in measures aimed at stemming the spread of coronavirus. The decision of general mobilization has been extended last week until April 12.